Elon alumnae Heath Oldham ’00 and Ashley Holmes ’06 have both been awarded prestigious Telly Awards for their work in video production.
Holmes received a Bronze Telly award for her video, “An Overview of the Algebraic Thinking Program,” which she produced for the National Training Network in Greensboro, N.C. The video is a promotional piece for an educational program that teaches algebraic skills to middle grades students.
Oldham has been involved in winning three Telly awards at CBS 6 and CW Richmond in Richmond, Va, He won a Silver Telly Award for his work shooting and editing the two-part series “Haunted Virginia.” The segment aired on the CBS television affiliate program, “Virginia this Morning,” in October 2006.
“Haunted Virginia” tells the story of the Church Hill train tunnel in Richmond, which collapsed in 1925, killing many workers. Along with this story, the segments show “Haunts of Richmond,” a local business that tells ghost stories about events in Richmond’s history.
Oldham also received Bronze Telly awards for shooting and editing a promotional image campaign for the launch of “Virginia this Morning,” and for his contributions toward the production of a Chick-Fil-A charity commercial.
The Telly Awards was founded in 1978 by David E. Carter, a past Emmy and Clio winner, to honor excellence in local, regional and cable TV commercials. Non-broadcast video and TV program categories were soon added. Today, the Telly is one of the most sought-after awards by industry leaders, from large international firms to local production companies and ad agencies. With over 200 categories, more organizations than ever are eligible to participate. There were more than 14,000 entries this year, with only about 7-10% being honored with either a bronze or silver Telly.
“It’s very nice to be recognized for your work by your peers in the office, but to have your work recognized from a pool of talent from across the world is really something to smile about,” says Oldham. “We were very proud to receive this honor. For the executive producer of local programming and myself, it was our first national award.”